NAIDOC 2026 50 Years of Deadly – Stolen Generations sector highlights timeline

As NAIDOC marks 50 Years of Deadly in 2026, this collated timeline recognises key moments in the history of truth-telling, advocacy, healing and justice for Stolen Generations survivors, their families and communities. It highlights milestones from the establishment of Link-Up services and the Bringing them home report through to national apologies, reparations schemes and continuing calls for healing and self-determination.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following may contain the names of deceased persons.

1980

Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation is established. Link-Up provides family tracing, reunion and support for forcibly removed children and their families.

1983

The Aboriginal Child Placement Principle is introduced in the Northern Territory, aiming to ensure that Indigenous children are placed with Indigenous families when adoption or fostering is necessary.

This is followed in NSW (1987), Victoria (1989), South Australia (1993), Queensland and the ACT (1999), Tasmania (2000) and Western Australia (2006).

Link-Up (NSW) receives funding from the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, which enabled the establishment of the first Link-Up NSW building and employees. In 1984, Link-Up was formally incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act.

1984

Link-Up (Qld) is founded in Brisbane in1984 in response to growing community concern over the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people searching for their forcibly removed families.

Aunty Beverley Johnson became the first employee and coordinator. Operating alone with minimal funding, she began building the service by distributing pamphlets to local communities and relying on church and community support to fund early reunifications.

1988 

The first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day is celebrated on 4 August to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Led by SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, the day recognises the strength, pride, and potential of these children. The date holds significant meaning, as it served as a shared birthday for many from the Stolen Generations who were removed from their families and did not know their birthday. This day acknowledges the pain of these removals while celebrating the resilience of survivors and their communities.

1989

Link-Up (Darwin) is established.

1991

Link-Up (Tas) is established.

1992

Link-Up (Vic) is established.  

1994

More than 600 Stolen Generations survivors gather at the Going Home Conference in Darwin to discuss common goals. The Going Home Conference was instrumental in pushing the Australian Government to set up a National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families (the National Inquiry). 

1995 

Then Attorney-General Michael Lavarch asks the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission) to set up the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. 

1997

The Commission presents the landmark ‘Bringing them home’ report to Parliament. Bringing them home’traces the history and consequences of removal for the Stolen Generations, and makes 83 recommendations to support healing and reconciliation.

1998

The Commission releases the 'Social Justice Report', which includes a summary of responses from the churches, and non-Indigenous community to the Inquiry's recommendations, and an 'Implementation Progress Report'.

The National Archives of Australia launches its Bringing them home Indexing Project to identify and preserve records about Indigenous people and communities. 

The first National Sorry Day is held on May 26,1998. It was established by community groups to commemorate the anniversary of the landmark Bringing Them Home report, which was tabled in Federal Parliament one year earlier to document the history and impact of the Stolen Generations.

1999

The Federal Parliament passes a Motion of Reconciliation expressing “deep and sincere regret over the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents" but stops short of apologising.

Link-Up (SA) is established.  

2000

Over 250,000 people participate in the Corroboree 2000 “Sorry" Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge on 28 May. Similar walks are held in the other State and Territory capitals.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination  expresses concern about the Australian Government's decision not to make a national apology or consider monetary compensation and criticises its inadequate response to recommendations from Bringing them home. 

An inquiry into the Federal Government's implementation of the Bringing them home recommendations is undertaken by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee. It results in the Healing: A Legacy of Generations Report.

Link-Up (Alice Springs) is established 

2001 

The Northern Territory Government presents a parliamentary motion of apology to people who were removed from their families.

Pope John Paul II issues a formal apology on behalf of the Vatican to the affected Aboriginal families for the actions of Catholic authorities or organisations in connection with the Stolen Generations.

The Commission and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) host the Moving Forward conference which explores ways of providing reparations to the Stolen Generations.

Link-Up (WA – seven sites) is established.  

2002 

PIAC releases its report on the Moving Forward conference, titled 'Restoring Identity'. The report presents a proposal for a reparations tribunal.

As part of the Victorian Government's response to the Bringing them home, Victoria establishes a Stolen Generations taskforce.

The NSW Victims Compensation Tribunal awards compensation to Stolen Generations member Valerie Linow for sexual abuse suffered while in State care. Linow becomes the first member of the Stolen Generations to be awarded compensation.

National Library of Australia's oral history project, 'Many Voices: Reflections on Experience of Indigenous Child Separation', is published with members of the Stolen Generations.

2003

The Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (MCATSIA) commissions and releases an independent evaluation of responses to the Bringing them home report.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner publicly criticises the failure of governments to apologise and provide financial and social reparations to the Stolen Generation.

2004

The Commonwealth Government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place in Canberra.

461 “Sorry Books", recording the reflections of Australians on the Stolen Generations, are entered on the Australian Memory of the World Register as part of UNESCO's program to preserve and promote material with significant historical value.

2005

The National Sorry Day Committee announces that Sorry Day will become a “National Day of Healing for All Australians".

The first official Sorry Day ceremony outside Australia is hosted in Lincoln Fields, London, on 25 May.

2006 

Tasmania sets up the first Stolen Generations compensation scheme.

2008

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologises to Australia’s Indigenous peoples on behalf of the Australian Government. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma responds with a call to ‘let the healing begin’.

2009

The Healing Foundation is established.

2016 

The South Australian Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme begins.

2017

The Healing Foundation marks the 20th anniversary of ‘Bringing them home’ with ‘Bringing them home 20 years on: an action plan for healing’. The action plan seeks a ‘reset’ in light of government inaction on the majority of the Bringing them home report recommendations. 

The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme begins.

2018

The National Redress Scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse officially opened for applications on July 1, 2018.  

2021 

The Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme is announced on 5th August. It provides support to Stolen Generations survivors & their families.

2022

The Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme begins. 

The Victorian Stolen Generations Reparations Package begins.

2024

The Healing Foundation holds a Stolen Generations Organisation Gathering in Garramilla (Darwin) with representatives from across the country connected around calls for better access to aged care, return of records and better funding for the work the sector does with Stolen Generations survivors.

2025

After decades of delay, the Western Australian Government announced in May 2025 that it would deliver a redress scheme for Stolen Generations survivors who were removed prior to 1 July 1972.

The WA Stolen Generations Redress Scheme opened on November 10 2025 leaving Queensland as the only remaining state or territory without a reparations scheme.

2026

From Sorry to Action: A plan to act on Bringing them home (2026-2028) Action Plan launched outlining critical priorities and tangible actions to support leaders and policy makers in actualising a number of the long-standing recommendations of the 1997 Bringing them home report. Implementing this Action Plan in full will result in meaningful progress before the 30th anniversary of the Bringing them home report on 26 May 2027.

Federal Government has introduced legislation to establish a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner – a move The Healing Foundation believes will serve a critical role in upholding the rights of ageing Stolen Generations Survivors and advocating for systems-level reform. 

Please note: This timeline includes many significant events related to Stolen Generations survivors and the sector, but may not be exhaustive. You can learn more about survivors, Stolen Generations organisations, redress schemes and priority actions needed on our website.  

References: 

• The Healing Foundation’s Timeline of Trauma and Healing 
• Link-Up (NSW)
• Australian Human Rights Commission Historical Context Timeline
• Knowmore 
• SBS Stolen Generations timeline 
• SNAICC - What is Children's Day